Flashing Forward
by AFincorporated
Summary: Heimdall shows the Avengers a terrible future; every hero in the world is dead, killed on H-day. The only remaining supers are the Avengers children who fight to Avenge them, but in a world controlled by HYDRA, success is doubtful. The avengers are powerless to help as the watch HYDRA's secrets unravel and the young heroes wage war on the darkness. OC's, the Avengers kids.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I don't own the Avengers. Unfortunately. Also, side note: in this story, Clint married Laura and has only one daughter years later, so the whole farm thing in the Ultron movie didn't happen. This is after both movies.**

"I don't understand what you're freaking out about, Thor." Clint said, leaning against the kitchen counter. "Heimdall saw something. What else is new?"

"You do not understand, Eye of Hawk." Thor insisted. "He has seen into the future."

"He can do that?" Steve asked, a little worried about where this was going.

"Apparently, capsicle." Tony shrugged.

"Thor, what does this have to do with us?" Natasha asked the son of Odin.

"Heimdall says he has seen only twenty years into the future. He says there is something we must see. He has sent me to bring you to Asgard with me so we can watch the future events."

"Woah woah-" Tony held up his hands in a _stop everything_ gesture. "Not that that doesn't sound fun, but I'm meeting Pepper today, which promises to be _even more_ fun, so-"

"We should all go." Steve frowned. "If Heimdall sees something in our future we need to know about, it must be really important."

"Couldn't it be dangerous to look at our futures?" Bruce asked, finally looking up from his newspaper. "Change the timeline or something like that?"

"It's possible," Steve agreed. "But it might be worth it."

"Indeed, friends, this is of utmost importance. Heimdall seemed quite agitated." Thor nodded.

Tony snorted. "Really? I thought that guy didn't do emotion." Then added, quietly so nobody could hear, "Kind of like Natasha."

"Great. Then we're going." Clint sighed. "I had plans today."

"Come, friends. Heimdall is waiting." Thor led them out onto the balcony, where they had open sky over their heads. "Heimdall! Open the bifrost!"

"Wait, not on my terrace-" Tony shouted, but the clouds over them were already churning. A blast of energy slammed down into the terrace, and then shot back up into the clouds. When the clouds cleared, the Avengers were gone, and a large round symbol was scorched onto Tony's balcony. He would be pissed when he got back and saw that.

 _*Meanwhile, in Asgard*_

The rainbow light stopped, tossing the Avengers out onto the floor of a large dome-shaped room. Huge circles of gold were built into the walls and ceiling, the floor glowed slightly, and there was a platform with stairs around it in the middle of the room. Standing on the middle of the platform was Heimdall, wearing golden armor and holding a golden sword. He didn't move to acknowledge them.

"Heimdall!" Thor boomed. "What do you want to show us?"

"Your future is very grave, Odinson." Heimdall warned, finally looking down at the Avengers.

"We already came all this way, we might as well watch the stupid-" Tony griped.

"Please show us, Heimdall." Steve interrupted. Heimdall surveyed them for a moment, then nodded. He held out one gloved hand to the large round portal they had come through. The surface of it changed from rainbow to black, then changed to show them a picture, like they were watching a movie.

The Avengers glanced at each other, but sat down. Actually, it wasn't all the Avengers, just those who had been at the tower when Thor had shown up an hour ago shouting about Heimdall. Tony, Clint, Natasha, Bruce, and Steve (plus Thor, of course). The other Avengers were all training or on missions.

 _The magical screen showed a large busy marketplace. It was packed with people, and every now and then a small fight would break out. The shelves of the stalls looked almost bare, and people were handing over crazy amounts of money for bread and water._

 _The camera zoomed in on a teenage girl, probably around fifteen or sixteen. She had a red beanie pulled low over her hair, so that only a few dark brown curls escaped. She wore a black leather jacket, a Stark Industries t-shirt, torn jeans, and red-and-white converse._

"Hey, I like her!" Tony said right away.

"You're only saying that because she's wearing a t-shirt with your logo on it." Steve rolled his eyes.

"Exactly!"

 _The girl on the screen was walking through the crowd with her hands in her pockets, dodging people. She accidentally banged her arm into one man's side, and walked on with a quick muttered, "Scuse me."_

"That was kind of rude." Steve frowned.

"Why aren't we watching our future selves?" Clint asked. "This is supposed to have something to do with us."

"Maybe this girl knows us?" Bruce guessed.

"It is the best answer." Thor nodded.

 _She turned around a corner into an alley, away from the crowd in the marketplace. A grin flickered onto her face, one corner of her mouth lifting up, followed by the other. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a leather wallet, and opened it, pulling out two twenties. Her grin widened._

"She pickpocketed that guy." Tony realized. "I didn't see."

"I didn't either." Natasha frowned. She was a trained spy-she should have been able to see a teenage kid pickpocket someone.

 _The girl glanced over her shoulder, before tossing the wallet onto the ground and stuffing the money into her pocket. With another glance over her shoulder, she jogged away down the alley._

 _The girl turned around different corners and streets, dodging cars and people. Once or twice she dove behind a parked car to avoid someone in a suit._

"It looks like she's avoiding someone." Clint observed.

 _Finally, she entered what looked like the neighborhood she was aiming for. It didn't look like a very good neighborhood; a car alarm and a siren wailed somewhere in the distance, a dog barked and a door slammed, the dirty walls were covered in graffiti, trash was abandoned in the street, and windows of the buildings the girl passed were smashed or boarded up. She finally stopped in front of an alley and turned down it, opening a door into the brick building to her left._

 _Inside, the building was just as run down. What might've been mold crept across the ceiling, a crack ran up one wall, the carpet had been rolled up and tossed on top of a pile of boards against one wall, and a rat skittered across the floor. Parts of the second and third floors were missing, leaving large holes. The concrete floor in the corner was cracked open, with a ladder leading down into a basement. Battered secondhand furniture was stuffed into the large dank building, and there were other signs that it was inhabited. Posters for rock banks and a couple of forties and fifties celebrities were hung on the walls. The mismatched rugs had a pair of shoes tossed on them, and empty chip bags sat on the counter of the kitchenette. "Honey, I'm home!" The teenager shouted suddenly, and way too loudly._

 _There was a crash from the other side of the warehouse, and a barely stifled curse. "Don't do that!" Someone shouted from the direction of the crash, as the teenage girl cracked up. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."_

" _Alas, my plan to off you didn't work." The girl sighed, but failed to keep from grinning. She jogged over to the sound of the crash. Another teenage girl, probably fifteen or sixteen, was sitting on the floor with a post it note stuck to her cheek. She looked like she had just woken up, with her light brown hair tangled and messy, bags under her half-glazed over brown eyes, and had a rumpled look to her clothes. She wore baggy jeans and a white tank top with the American flag on it. The pickpocket girl frowned. "Did you seriously just wake up?"_

" _I pulled an all-nighter." The other girl yawned. The pickpocket smiled and crouched in front of her friend, tugging the post it note off her friend's cheek. "Oh, thanks."_

" _Anytime. Where is everybody? I scored today, I thought we could get shawarma."_

"See? This kid is awesome." Tony said, scoffing at their eyerolls. "A stark t-shirt and shawarma? Do you need any more proof?"

"What are they doing living there, though? That doesn't look like a safe place for kids." Steve asked, frowning. "And I still don't see what any of this has to do with us."

"Be patient." Was Heimdall's only response.

" _I think Jules is in the basement, working on… something. Abby is out somewhere, probably causing trouble again. I don't know what happened to Alex and Finn."_

" _Thanks, Lou." The pickpocket said. She held out a hand to her friend, and pulled her up. Lou shook her head, making her hair fall in her eyes._

" _I need a shower." Lou sighed, glancing down at herself. "See you at dinner, Jo?"_

" _Count on it." The pickpocket, Jo, smiled. Lou smiled as well and jogged away towards a set of stairs. Jo stared after her friend for a moment, before shaking her head slightly and turning towards the corner of the warehouse. In the corner, the concrete floor had been blasted open with what looked like a sledgehammer, opening into a large empty concrete room below the floor. Jo clambered down the ladder leaning against the side of the hole._

 _The room must be being used as a lab. Three large workbenches were set against the walls, covered in metal parts and tools. The floor was covered with metal scrap, crumpled papers, chip bags, and soda cans. Tables and shelves were crammed into the room. The walls were covered with so many blueprints, notes-to-self, to do lists, and newspaper clippings, you could barely see the concrete underneath. The whole place was lit with flickering fluorescent lights duct-taped to the ceiling. In the middle of the room was what might be a metal operating table, covered in a white sheet. Underneath the white sheet was the form of a person._

"Is that a…" Steve stared at the white sheet over the table.

"I think it is." Tony scowled at the screen. "Okay, I'll be the first to say it. These kids are just messed up."

 _The girl, Jo, paused in front of a section of wall that was mostly bare. Hanging there, and given a wide berth by the other papers and posters, was an Avengers poster. On the poster, Tony had his helmet off and held out his hand like he was about to shoot something. Thor clutched his hammer. Slightly behind them, Natasha was storming towards the camera and Clint was holding his bow and looking at something off to the side. Steve stood on a car, holding his shield, and the Hulk was clenching his fists like he was about to smash. Even Fury was in the poster, holding his gun._

"So they're Avengers fans?" Tony said. "What do these kids have to do with us anyway?"

"Be patient." Heimdall warned. Tony and Clint both glanced over their shoulder at him, looking annoyed.

"We'll find out." Natasha said calmly.

"Please, man of iron and eye of hawk, just watch and we will find out." Thor said. Tony and Clint turned back to the screen.

 _Jo had a look of sadness on her face, the look you get when you're mourning someone close to you. She reached up and her fingertips brushed the arc reactor in Tony's chest. Her eyes brimmed with tears._

"Woah woah," Tony said, looking confused and surprised. "She acts like I'm dead."

There was a heavy silence.

"I mean, I can't be, right?" Tony tried again.

"We don't know that." Steve agreed finally, but he looked worried. "She might just not be able to find you, or maybe you two got into a fight? That is, assuming she knows you at all. You might be totally fine and she's fangirling."

" _Jo?" Someone asked from behind Jo. She whipped around, pulling her hand down. A teenage boy was watching her from where he stood next to the metal operating table. He looked sixteen or maybe seventeen, older then Jo and Abby. He had curly dark brown hair and dark eyes, and wore a purple t-shirt and cargo shorts. Hanging around his neck was a thin silver chain, with a small round pendant hanging from it. A chinese symbol was carved into the pendant."Are you okay?"_

"What's that symbol mean?" Steve asked, frowning at the screen.

"I don't know much Chinese, but I think that means peace." Bruce said uncertainly.

 _Jo nodded. She brushed a curl of dark brown hair out of her eyes and tucking it underneath her red beanie, turning her back on the poster. "I'm fine, Jules. Thanks. It's just, I got money for dinner. You hungry?"_

 _The older boy, Jules, glanced at the shape of a body under the sheet. "I should probably…"_

" _You spent all day working on it, didn't you." Jo said, and it wasn't a question. Jules nodded sheepishly. "Jules, I told you, it can't be fixed. I want it to stay in the past. Please let it."_

"It?" Clint frowned in confusion. "That isn't a person?"

"Or maybe it's just a person they don't like very much." Tony shrugged. Steve shot him a glare. "I'm just saying."

" _C'mon, Jo, it's not even that badly damaged. We could fix it. We could use it to-"_

" _No." Jo snapped, cutting off Jules's argument. "I just… I want to forget about it. It was a mistake. There's nothing any of us can do. This is my life now, Jules, and I want to forget about my old one. It hurts too much."_

"Show of hands-anybody really confused?" Tony asked, raising his hand. All hands went up, except for Heimdall.

 _Jules opened his mouth as if to argue, then closed it again. "Okay, Jo. If you really want me to stop, I will. But I'm not getting rid of it."_

" _All I ask." Jo nodded. She turned, walking towards the ladder out of the basement._

 _Jules hesitated, but called after her. "Jo!" She turned. "You aren't the only one who lost everything on H-day, you know. The rest of us are as trapped here as you are, but the difference is? We're trying to do something about it."_

 _Jules's grip on the side of the table tightened so his knuckles were white. Something seemed to be… wrong with him. Green splotches appeared on his skin, slowly spreading outward. He seemed to be growing larger, muscles bulging under his clothes._

"Oh my god." Bruce stared at the teenage boy on the screen in horror. "He's… oh my god."

"He looks just like you do when you change." Steve said. "How is this possible?"

"I've never been sure if the other guy is… well, genetic. There's a possibility that Jules can change because he's my…" Bruce trailed off.

"Your son?" Natasha asked, and for once even she couldn't stay totally calm.

 _On the screen, Jo had backed up until she had her back against a workbench. Her eyes were wide with fear. "Jules calm down. Jules, listen to me." Jules looked up at her, and his dark brown eyes had turned a murky shade of dark green. His teeth clenched, like he was in agony. He released the table with one hand, clutching at the peace pendant hanging around his neck. He took a deep breath, but the green totally covered his skin, and he staggered back. "Lou!" Jo screamed, groping behind her on the workbench for something to use as a weapon. "Louisa, it's Julian!"_

"What can Lou do?" Bruce asked, almost bitterly. "He's changed. They should be running."

"Something gives me the feeling…" Thor stared at the screen. "That they will not."

 _Lou's face appeared at the top of the ladder. "What? What? Jules?"_

" _He's Hulking out." Jo said, not taking her eyes off Jules. Jules still hadn't moved, leaning against the wall and taking shaky breaths. He really did look like he was in pain, and flickers of brown in his eyes made it look like… he was fighting back against the transformation? "What do I do?"_

Suddenly, the screen went black. "What was that?" Clint demanded, turning to Heimdall. "We have to see what happens!"

"You are done for today." Heimdall said flatly. "Return tomorrow."

"But-"  
"Return tomorrow."  
"It is alright, friends," Thor assured them. "We will come back tomorrow to continue." Heimdall waved his hand and the portal reappeared. Before any of them could argue, they were on earth again.

 **AN: thanks for reading. This chapter was really long. Please leave a review or follow/favorite.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I don't own the Avengers.**

The next day, Thor, Steve, Natasha, Bruce, and Clint all met on Tony's roof. Thor zapped them up again, and soon they were sitting on the floor in front of the portal. Heimdall held his hand up and the screen reappeared over the portal.

"It will start where we left off, right?" Steve checked. Heimdall nodded.

The screen flickered to life.

 _On the screen, everyone was as they had been at the end of their watching yesterday. Lou was leaning over the hole in the ceiling, Jules was hulking out and clutching at the table to hold himself up, and Jo was backing away._

" _Stay calm." Lou said, her face pulling away from the opening. "He needs to focus. I'm coming down." Lou's face disappeared, and her battered sneakers appeared on the ladder. She called, louder, "Jules, It's Lou. Louisa. Your best friend, remember? Josephine is here too. Jo. You're okay. You're stronger then the other guy, you can do this. Just focus on my voice, and fight back."_

 _Jules tensed again, and the green disappeared from his eyes, replaced with brown. After a few more terrifying moments, the green on his skin started to face, leaving him perfectly normal in slightly torn clothes. He staggered, and Lou and Jo both caught one of his arms._

"How did they… how did he…" Bruce whispered, staring at the screen. He looked down at his hands. "I can't do that."

"Maybe the hulk is less strong in him, since it's second generation." Natasha suggested. Bruce nodded numbly.

" _You okay?" Lou asked, frowning with worry. Jules nodded._

" _Just… drained."_

" _What were you two arguing about that made you hulk out?" Lou asked, sounding slightly accusatory as she fixed her eyes on Jo. Jo looked guilty._

" _Y'know… that problem."_

" _You two can't keep doing this!" Lou said angrily. She stormed over to the medical table and whipped the white sheet off of it. Laying on the table was a metal suit, part silver and part deep purple. It was broken, with the arms and legs torn off and partially disassembled. There were scorch marks and dings all over it, and the arc reactor in it's chest was cracked open and melted on the inside. But it was still clear what it had been when it was in full repair-an Ironman suit, that would have fit Jo perfectly._

Tony gaped at the screen. "They-they stole my suit!"

"I don't think they stole it, actually." Natasha looked pleased with herself. "If Jules really is Dr. Banner's son, then why would Jo have an Ironman suit and be so saddened by a picture of you? Think about it."

Tony thought about it. Then let out a loud groan and put his head in his hands. Clint grinned.

"Jo is Tony's daughter!"

"But that just makes this all the more worrying." Steve reminded them. "Our kids are living in an abandoned warehouse. Where are we in all of this?"

" _Our_ kids?" Clint asked. "Um, I don't have kids. I'm not even married."

"The rest of us aren't either." Thor warned. "But we have already seen two of our children, which leaves me to wonder who Louisa's parents are."

"Steve?" Tony guessed. "She has the American flag t-shirt." Steve paled.

 _On the screen, Jules and Jo were both staring at the suit. Lou had her hands on her hips, waiting for one of them to talk. Jo looked angry and maybe a little afraid, and Jules looked guilty._

" _You know we've been working on it?" Jules asked finally._

" _Do I know that my two best friends are building the Irongirl suit in my basement? Yes, I do. I'm not stupid. Now does one of you want to tell me what you were planning to do with this thing?"_

" _Nothing." Jo said. "I didn't want him to repair it."_

" _Come on, Lou, think about the good we could do with this thing. It doesn't even have to be Jo that wears it." Jules pleaded. "You or Abby would fit. We could use it to strike back against-"_

" _No, we couldn't." Jo snapped. "HYDRA is too powerful for anyone to stop them, much less us."_

"HYDRA?" Steve asked, scowling. "How much does it take to stop those guys?"

" _Please just think about it, Lou." Jules pleaded._

 _Lou frowned at the suit for a long moment. Finally she said, "Keep it, just in case. But don't keep working on it until we can put it to a vote when everyone gets back." Jules gave a small smile and nodded, and Jo scowled and shoved her hands in her pockets. Lou reached out to put a hand on Jo's shoulder, but she twitched away. "Come on, Jo… don't."_

 _Jo stormed to the ladder and climbed out of the basement, leaving Jules and Lou on their own._

"Yeah, she's Stark's kid." Steve muttered. Tony shot him a glare.

 _Jo crossed the warehouse, heading for the front door. Suddenly, it was thrown open and another teenage girl fell through it. Literally, fell. She landed on her side, coughing and kicking the door shut with her foot. Jo's eyes widened._

" _Abby? Abby, what did you do?"_

"I wonder who Abby's parent is?" Bruce said thoughtfully.

"She's carrying a bow." Natasha said. Clint went pale.

 _Abby had long tangled dark blond hair in two messy loose braids, and hazel eyes. She wore a pink army fatigue jacket and light jeans, and a black tank top. A long metal bow hung from her shoulder, as well as a quiver of black metal arrows with blue feathers for fletchings. She pushed herself up on her elbows, showing off a black eye and fat lip. Jo pulled Abby (who was probably fourteen) to her feet._

Clint winced. "That does not look good."

" _What did you do to your face?" Jo demanded._

" _I fell." Abby shrugged, pulling free. "Repeatedly. Onto some fists."_

" _Abby, you can't keep causing trouble." Lou's scolding voice came from the basement. She had Jules were walking towards them. "Who did you piss off this time?"_

" _Why do you assume it was my fault?" Abby pretended to be hurt. "I would never start trouble like that."_

" _Then who's fault was it?" Jules sighed._

" _Uh… mine." Abby admitted, breaking into a sheepish grin._

"Yeah, she's officially the daughter of the birdbrain." Tony smirked.

"You can't laugh, Stark. Your daughter is terrified of her own Irongirl suit."

"Iron _man._ "

"They said Irongirl, and it looked fitted to a girl. Unless future you has made some serious changes."

"Shut up and watch already, you two." Steve said, shutting up Clint and Tony.

 _The four teens were walking towards the stairs to the second floor, when someone dropped from the rafters high above. The second floor was coming apart in places so you could see up to the rafters through large holes where the floor had collapsed, and someone had just jumped from the rafters three floors above the ground and fell towards one of the holes._

" _Stop showing off, Alex!" Abby shouted. A second person fell from the rafters on their other side as the first figure landed. "Seriously, Finn? A little decency."_

 _The second boy landed as well, and both jogged over to their friends. The boy who had fallen first, Alex, wore jeans and a black hoodie. He had dark red hair and dark brown eyes, and his face was a mask of calm as he rolled when he landed and came back up to his feet. The second boy was grinning and laughing loudly, and had shaggy blond hair that fell in bright blue eyes. A metal helmet with two little wings on the sides fell down crookedly over his forehead, and he wore a red t-shirt, gray hoodie, and cargo pants. The blond boy was maybe around fourteen, and the red-haired boy was probably seventeen._

"Romanoff and Odinson?" Bruce guessed with a tentative glance at his teammates. Natasha stared at the red-haired boy with a face totally blank of emotion, but Thor looked like he had been run over by a bilgesnipe.

"Probably." Clint nodded. "Especially from the helmet."

" _About time, you two." Jo smirked. "What kept you?"_

" _We were getting the newspaper." The red-haired boy held it up. "The usual HYDRA shi-"_

" _Language!" Lou interrupted._

Tony laughed. "She is so your kid, Rogers."

" _It is bad stuff." The blond boy translated. "Their usual lies about our parents, and SHIELD."_

" _Is there anything on the disappearances, Al?" Jules asked, taking the newspaper from the red-haired boy, who shook his head._

" _They're still trying to cover it up."_

"Cover what up?" Clint asked irritably. "What are they hiding? And who is who?"

"They already mentioned HYDRA a couple of times." Natasha pointed out. "HYDRA must be the problem. They must be doing something the general public doesn't know about."

" _Here, on the obituary page-" Jules said, holding up a page of the newspaper. MISSING was printed underneath two photos. "Two more in the last few days. That's almost forty, right?"_

 _The others nodded grimly. Jo scowled. "What are we supposed to do about it? We only have suspicions. I mean, we aren't… them."_

" _We could be." Jules muttered._

" _Reminds me." Lou said, clapping her hands together loudly once to get all of their attention. "We need a vote, people. Jules has been fixing the Irongirl suit in the basement. We need to decide what we're going to do with it."_

" _Seriously?" Abby demanded. "Banner!"_

Bruce went pale. "No question of it." He mumbled.

Tony whistled. "So we all have a kid in the future. Great. Yay. What I want to know is what happened to us?"

"If I have to tell you to be patient one more time-" Natasha threatened.

"It matters not." Heimdall said. "This is the end of your viewing for the day."

This time, they knew not to bother arguing.

 **AN: tell me what you thought in the reviews!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I don't own the Avengers.**

The next day, they all returned to Asgard and settled into their seats.

"What was happening when we left yesterday?" Clint tried to remember.

"Lou had just told everyone that Jules was trying to repair the suit." Bruce said. "They weren't happy."  
Heimdall started the show.

" _You shouldn't have done that without telling us." Alex said, shaking his head slightly. His face was still calm, but his voice had an undertone of annoyance or disbelief. "Besides, I thought only the Starks knew how to repair the Arc Reactor, and it was thrashed on H-Day."_

"What's H-day?" Clint wondered. "They've mentioned it twice."

"Perhaps it would be easier if I were to take us back, closer to our point in time." Heimdall offered, the image on the screen freezing.

"Perhaps that would be best, Heimdall." Thor agreed. "To when all this matter started."

"A year and a half earlier, I think." Heimdall said. The image changed to show the Avengers tower. It was in ruins.

 _On the screen, the top five floors of the Avengers tower was in ruins, windows smashed and the whole building looking like it might fall over. The name was smashed, and occasionally a loud groan came from the rubble as the metal settled._

"Dear Lord," Steve whispered. The others wanted to say a few stronger things.

"July 16, 2031. H-Day." Heimdall said gravely. "The day the heroes died."

 _The image changed to the street in front of Avengers tower. Cars were tossed to the sides, and people were pulling themselves out of the rubble of surrounding buildings. Sirens blared from every direction. Standing there on pavement was a teenage girl in a silver-and-purple Irongirl suit. It was badly damaged-most of the arm was missing, the arc reactor in the chest was cracked, and dents and bangs and dirty covered the rest of it._

 _She didn't move. She just stood in the middle of the street, staring at the wreckage of the Avengers tower._

 _There was a shout from behind Jo. She didn't turn, but Lou rushed up behind her. She wasn't in much better shape. Her clothes were singed and torn, her hair was tossed and scratches ran along her cheek. She held a round metal shield with her right hand, the white star in it's middle proudly telling the world who she was. But it was badly damaged as well. "Jo!"  
Lou stopped next to Jo. "Jo, who was inside? Jo, talk to me."_

 _Jo reached up, and lifted her helmet off. Her face was dirty, and one of her eyes looked bruised. Tears weren't on her face, but her expression told the whole story. It was pain, hate, fear, agony in every measure. She didn't look away from the wreckage. "My dad."_

Tony leaned forward, desperate to see what was happening. The others cast him worried looks, though most of them hid it.

"I was in there?" He asked softly. "But there's no way-"

" _Oh my God-" Lou's eyes widened as she looked up at the wreckage. "Jo, are you sure-"_

" _I'm sure." Jo swallowed. "He didn't have his suit on. Oh my God, Lou, he didn't have his suit on." Then suddenly she was sobbing, sinking to her knees. Her suit folded itself up into one metal gauntlet, but she didn't seem to notice or care. Lou lowered to the ground with her, wrapping her arms around Jo. Lou was crying, too, and her shield clattered to the street._

"I'm dead." Tony whispered. Then he shouted, louder, "I'm dead!"

"We do not know that for sure, man of iron!" Thor shouted. "Jo may be wrong!"

"You heard her!" Tony shouted. "I'm dead! What the £$%%£~}#]&* !?"

"Stark!" Steve bellowed. "Language! That won't help! We just have to watch and see!" When Tony didn't start shouting again, Steve nodded to Heimdall and the video kept playing.

 _Alex and Jules came running towards them. When they saw Lou and Jo sobbing in front of the wreckage of the tower, they must have guessed what it meant. "I don't believe…." Jules muttered, eyes wide. They were both in bad shape. They looked battered, their clothes torn and their faces scraped and scratched. A white cloth was tightly tied around Alex's forearm, a bandage. It was stained red slightly, like from a bulletwound._

" _We have to keep going." Alex muttered, but he avoided looking at the tower. Both boys looked like they were trying to keep from crying. "We may still be able to help others." Jules nodded, pressing a hand to his mouth. He rubbed the peace pendant around his neck, taking a deep breath, and nodded again, more sure this time._

 _The two boys helped Jo and Lou to their feet. Jo looked like she might fall over. She fought against them, screaming with loss, but immediately slackened again, sobbing silently._

"She loves me." Tony said, as if it had only just occurred to him. Heimdall stopped the screen again, as he had with every interruption. "Does that mean I'm a… a good dad?"

"I think you must be." Bruce said softly. Tony rubbed his eyes tiredly, in one of his rare moments of weakness.

"I'm dead. My daughter is on her own. And, from the looks of it, the world is coming to an end." Tony said miserably. "Everything is falling apart."

"The rest of us are still out there." Clint said, glaring at the screen. "It's not over yet."

"Except we know that we lose." Steve said. He shook his head. "This is before the scenes we already saw. And if we weren't around in those, if HYDRA was in control… then H-day is the day we die."

"That is what the H stands for." Thor realized, face grim and almost… set. Like he was accepting his death. "Heroes day. The day the Avengers fail."

" _I'm so sorry, Jo," Lou whispered, cradling Jo's cheek with one hand. "Please. We still have a chance to save the rest of the heroes. HYDRA can't win."_

 _Jo managed to nod, struggling to pull herself together. The metal gauntlet unfolded itself, spreading across her into the damaged silver-and-purple suit. The four of them sprinted away down the street._

 _The screen changed to a hotel room. The hotel was run-down and dirty. There were two twin beds and an overstuffed couch. The curtains were drawn over the night outside, and the only light was a bedside lamp somebody had switched on._

 _In the room, in silence, was the children of the Avengers. Josephine Stark, Louisa Rogers, Julian Banner, Alexander Romanoff, Finnigan Foster, and Abigail Barton. They wandered the room, not moving very much, some of them sitting or standing. Finn had his metal helmet in his hands, twisting it nervously._

" _Anyone heard from the Maximoffs?" Abby asked finally. Nobody moved or said anything. "Oh."_

The Avengers shifted nervously. This was after the fighting was over. They were already dead.

" _I just thought maybe they… I dunno, got away." Abby continued. Nobody responded to her talking in any way, so she kept going nervously. The words kind of spilled out of her, like she didn't have a choice in saying them. "I mean, it doesn't seem real. It just can't be true. Yesterday we were just a handful of new heroes out of the dozens. We were a part of something, changing the world. And now…" Her voice cracked, but she drew up her resolve. She looked up at them, all of them clearly listening._

" _Every living superhero in the world is in this room. Right now. In this minute. We are the only ones left."_

"No." Steve said, shaking his head slowly and then more forcefully. "No!"

"Steve-" Natasha tried, but she looked like she wanted to scream or shoot something.

Tony was rubbing Bruce's arm, trying to keep him calm. Bruce was taking deep breaths, his hands pressed to the sides of his head. Clint stared at the screen, muttering his breath. Thor's grip tightened on his hammer, and his jaw set.

"Oh my God-" Clint said loud enough for them all to hear. "Every hero in the world dies. Good just got it's ass kicked. How is this even possible?"

"Our kids are still alive, though," Steve protested. "We still have a chance."

"It's not like they can resurrect us, Steve." Clint snapped.

"Not what I meant." Steve shook his head. "We still have a chance against HYDRA."  
"But we've seen almost two years into the future, and they haven't done anything." Tony said. Bruce was calmed down enough now to nod in agreement.

Steve didn't answer. Thor nodded to Heimdall, and the screen kept playing.

 _None of the other kids answered, except for Jules who asked dully if anyone had heard from the Guardians of the Galaxy._

"The who now?" Tony asked.

The others shrugged.

" _Nothing from anyone." Jo shook her head. She and Lou were sitting side-by-side on one of the beds, and Lou had her arm around her. Jo's eyes were puffy and red, though none of the rest of them looked any better. "We really are the only ones."_

" _We have to stop HYDRA." Alex said. He was standing by the window, peering out between the curtains. "Ideas?"_

" _We can't stop HYDRA. Three dozen heroes ago we couldn't, how could we now?" Abby asked, twisting her bow in her hands. "They've taken over everything."_

" _We cannot just give up!" Finn protested. He set his metal helmet on the table, standing up. "HYDRA has taken everything from us! We cannot let them get away with that. We have to…." He hesitated. "We have to avenge our families."_

 _Jo snorted. "How could we do that?" Jules asked. "Inventory check, people. We have the Irongirl suit, but it's badly damaged. We have one Asgardian broadsword and one mini hulk." She was counting on his fingers. "We have an indestructible shield except we don't know where we dropped it and two glock 22's. Plus a bow and around six remaining arrows."_

" _And my lucky boomerang arrow." Abby interrupted. "Don't forget that. Always comes back to you."_

"I'm beginning to like her." Clint nodded approvingly. "Never underestimate the boomerang arrow."

"Why would you want an arrow that comes back to you after you shoot it?" Steve asked.

Clint shrugged. "There's lots of things that can be done with it, some really awesome one-liners. There was this one time where I shot the boomerang arrow over the guy's head, and he was like, 'you missed', but I-"

"Thanks, Clint." Natasha interrupted. "Heimdall, keep playing."

" _That's not enough against HYDRA. They're in too deep." Jo shook her head._

" _We cannot let them win." Finn protested._

" _What choice do we have?" Alex asked, letting the blinds flick closed. "We're not trained. We can't even drive, and I don't think Finn and Abby are legally teens yet."_

" _We're thirteen!"_

" _Case in point."_

" _Then what are we supposed to do? Go into hiding?" Jules asked. Nobody answered. "Oh."_

" _I don't want to go into hiding." Abby shook her head, twisting the bow so tightly her knuckles turned white. "I just want… I want everything to be the way it was when I woke up this morning. I don't want this."_

" _None of us do, kiddo." Jules rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Does anyone… does anyone have any family left? I don't like to ask, but if you do then you go find them and you don't ever come looking for the rest of us again."_

 _Finn tentatively raised his hand. "My mom and my grandpa, and my uncle Loki. But I'm not leaving you guys."_

"So Jane survived." Thor said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I had feared…"

"But none of the others are volunteering." Steve observed. "So Pepper, at least-"

Tony swore. Steve shot him a glare, but couldn't bring himself to reprimand him.

" _I think it's best if you spend some time in Asgard, Finn." Abby said sadly. "The rest of us aren't going anywhere. Probably."_

" _I am not leaving all of you." Finn insisted._

" _If he wants to stay with us, we shouldn't make him go." Jo said, glancing up at the rest of them. "It's his decision. And I think we should stick together."_

" _Fine." Jules sighed. "I don't even have the energy to argue right now. Anybody else got a place to go?"_

 _Nobody moved. Nobody said anything._

"Then we must all be dead, and all of our spouses." Steve said with a note of finality. "That's it."

"Our kids are still going." Bruce nodded. "We know they're fine after a year and a half."

" _We have to find a safe place for all of us to stay." Lou decided. "Jo, the Stark family accounts are still opened, right?"_

 _Jo nodded. "I'm the heiress to the whole company, but there's no way to take money without being traced by the government, and HYDRA."_

"I should do something about that." Tony said, making a mental note.

" _We should take as much as we can take at once, then find some other way to make money when that runs out." Alex suggested._

" _Alright. Jo, Jules, and I will get the money. Abby, Alex, and Finn, you find us a good place to hide. Somewhere nobody would look for the children of superheroes." Lou directed. "Somewhere dark and run down."_

" _We can do that." Abby nodded. "I always wanted a warehouse. Good for shooting things in. And plenty of boomerang arrow room," She added, smirking slightly at the groan from the others._

" _One day I will burn the stupid boomerang arrow." Jo sighed._

"Why do they all hate it so much?" Clint protested. "It's really reliable."

 _Abby snickered. "Alright, alright. Get going. I'm sick of this hotel room."_

 _Jo, Lou, and Jules left the hotel room and started down the hall. They were all now dressed in civilian clothes, and Jo pulled her red beanie low over her forehead as they left the building. "How does she do that?" Jo wondered as they walked. "Abby, I mean. The world ended this morning and she doesn't even seem bothered anymore."_

" _That's what she does." Jules shrugged, stopping for a newspaper. "She's just a kid. And if she's smiling, she doesn't have to feel sad like all the rest of us. We shouldn't fight it. Look at this." He passed the newspaper to Lou, who scanned it. The headline read; H-DAY CRIPPLES NATIONS. Underneath that was the line;_ With no heroes, HYDRA overthrows government _._

" _As if we didn't all already know that." Lou sighed. Jo took the newspaper, unfolding it. On the front page was a blown up picture of the ruined Avengers tower, and next to that a row of headshots of every Avenger, the Fantastic Four, the X-men, and Guardians of the Galaxy. The caption read;_ Dead and missing, the world mourns the passing of these heroes _._

"I can't believe this is really our future." Bruce mumbled. "It doesn't seem possible. We can't just lose like this."

"I have a feeling," Clint said suddenly. "I didn't want to say anything before, but I have a feeling we aren't dead. I don't think it's true."

"Clint, everything we've seen suggests that the heroes were massacred and HYDRA takes over the governments of the world." Natasha said gently. Actually, not that gently.

Clint shook his head. "I can feel it. Somehow, this is all a lie."

"This is all for today," Heimdall told them. "Return tomorrow."

"And on that cheery note." Clint grumbled, following the Avengers through the portal.

 **AN: Please leave a review or follow/favorite.**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I don't own the Avengers.**

The Avengers settled onto their seats on the floor as the movie (well, not a movie, but thinking of it that way was less depressing) began to play again.

 _Jo's eyes suddenly looked watery. She tightened her grip on the paper. "Jo?" Lou asked, setting her hand gently on her friend's arm. "Jo, what is it?" She looked over Jo's shoulder, and blinked hard. Jules took the paper away from them, tossing it into a trash bin. "Let's go."_

" _The world is over." Jo whispered. "This proves it."_

"She's definitely cheerful." Tony mumbled.

 _Jules pressed a hand to his mouth, sucking in a deep breath. Lou bit her lip. "Please, Jo." Lou said, taking one of the youngest Stark's hands. "So maybe things have changed. We have all lost people we care about deeply today. Things will never be the same again." She led her friends into an alley, away from the people on the street. "But that doesn't change who we are. It doesn't, Jo. We are still the people we were yesterday, just living in a different world. Everyone faces a crucible in their lives, that makes or breaks them. This is ours. But if we work together, if we don't give up, if we remember who we are and honor them for who they were, then the world isn't over. It's just starting again, differently."_

"Your kid makes speeches just as good as yours, capsicle." Tony snorted. "I'm tearing up."

Steve rolled his eyes.

 _Jo nodded onscreen, and Jules gulped. Lou looked determined and dangerous, like nothing could hurt her. She was clearly their leader, and for the first time the past Avengers could see the true resemblance between her and the cap. She was scared and hurting just as much as them-but she was still holding them up._

" _And we have to hold it together for the others, as well." She added. "We're the oldest. It's our job to keep everyone together."_

" _Agreed." Jules nodded. "We'll survive."_

" _Are you two done with the touchy-feely shit?" Jo grumbled. "Of course we'll survive. Let's go get the stupid money already." She spun around and started to stomp out of the alley, rubbing her cheek with her sleeve. Jules and Lou exchanged a knowing look and followed her._

"That is all you need to know from this point in time." Heimdall stated, the screen freezing again. "You know the state of the world is when we return to one and a half years into the future." He inclined his head slightly to the screen, and the image changed to show the warehouse and the Avenger's children, standing the way they had been before Heimdall showed them H-day.

" _Dude, you built a flying metal suit in our basement and I didn't know about it?" Abby spluttered. She shook her head dejectedly. "I gotta work on my observation skills."_

" _What you gotta work on is your kickboxing." Alex frowned, examining her bruised eye. "What was it this time?"_

" _They were beating up a younger kid for the usual no good reason." Abby grumbled. "I'll be okay."_

"I like her." Clint smiled. "Good kid."

"I think you're just saying that because she likes the stupid boomerang arrow as much as you do." Natasha muttered too quietly for him to hear.

" _Next time, come get us for backup." Finn said, pushing his crooked metal helmet out of his eyes. "We can help." Abby grinned._

" _To take us back to the suit-" Lou said. "I vote we keep it in case of emergency, but don't repair it. Anyone?"_

" _I think we should fix it." Jules argued. "With Jo's help, I could do it, and we might have a chance against HYDRA."_

" _No we wouldn't." Jo mumbled._

" _I want to fix it, too!" Abby nodded. "Irongirl smash!"_

" _I'm with lady Barton!" Finn smirked._

"Why does he talk like that if his mom is from Midgard?" Tony wondered.

"I think he's just trying to bug the rest of them." Steve guessed.

" _I think…" Alex hesitated. "I think we should… I don't know. We decided to go into hiding almost two years ago because we thought we didn't have a chance of winning. What's changed?"_

" _We're older now." Jules said. "We're stronger now. If we just do a little training, get some more weapons, and fix the suit, we have a shot. We would probably need a lot more intel on HYDRA, of course, but we need the suit for any of this."_

" _How would we get the HYDRA intel?" Alex argued._

" _You're the master spy here, kemosabe." Abby said, smirking. "You tell us."_

 _Alex thought about it for a moment, gears turning quickly in his mind. "Alright." He conceded. "I think we should fix the suit."_

" _We can't!" Jo protested. "I never want to wear that damned thing again."_

" _Why do you hate it so much?" Lou asked sadly. "You used to love it."_

" _It couldn't save them. So what's the freaking point of it?" Jo snapped._

" _Maybe it couldn't help your dad on H-day." Lou said cautiously. "But if I remember correctly, there were other people it helped. And there are people it can help, now. HYDRA is the bad guy. We can't let them win."_

" _We shall not back down." Finn said. He stuck out his hand. "Who is with me?"_

 _Jules put his hand on Finn's. Abby followed, then Alex. Lou hesitated and muttered, "Oh, fudge this," under her breath and put her hand on as well. Jo glared at them all._

" _C'mon, Jo-you can't say no to a group hand-thingy." Abby pleaded._

" _It's the right thing to do." Lou said, watching Jo almost hopefully, almost sadly. "You know it's what he would want. It's what Ironman would do."_

 _Jo stepped forward and joined them. "Alright." She sighed. "I give in. If we're gonna get ourselves killed, might as well be trying to save the world. Let's do this damned thing."_

"You go girl!" Tony cheered. "Kick some HYDRA ass!"

"I think they might actually have a chance." Bruce said, twisting his hands nervously. "I think they can do this."

"Of course they can." Clint grinned. "They're Avengers. We always win."

"Somebody knock on wood!"

 **AN: thanks for reading, sorry this chapter was shorter then the others. Please leave a review or follow**


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